


Modulation

by NightsMistress



Category: Stella Glow
Genre: Gen, post: true end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-22 10:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9603944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightsMistress/pseuds/NightsMistress
Summary: The celebratory banquet for the Tuning Knights sounds like it will go on long into the night, but Alto needs to check up on someone before he can get too involved in the festivities.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ideallyqualia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/gifts).



The celebratory banquet looks like it will continue well into the night, and Alto can hear the celebrations even from the other side of the castle. He has put a drowsy Marie to bed and despite his promises to come back to the party soon, he feels that there is something else he must do. He feels constricted and trapped, an irrational feeling that he identifies after some thought as being how he experiences the chains that appear in his vision when he needs to tune Lisette, Popo, Sakuya, Mordimort or Hilda. Despite this, he suspects that he should save the tuning until after the party. The Tuning Knights are, after all, the stars of the show.

Instead, he crosses the rubble of the castle, looking down at his feet to prevent his turning an ankle in the wreckage left from the angel’s attack on Regnant, and makes his way towards the surprisingly intact Tuning Hall. This part of the castle is eerie at night, not the least because he remembers it when it was lively, full of people and light. Now it is dark and quiet, with only Eve’s song to remind him that there are other living people around. He looks up to the full, pallid moon in the sky, and says “Thank you,” before entering the Tuning Hall.

The Tuning Hall’s atmosphere has always captured Alto’s heart in a way that no other place does. It’s not just that when he speaks in here the echoes seem to enhance his voice, though he can certainly appreciate that effect on the witches. It’s also that the room seems to support and buoy him up, making tuning as easy as breathing. Now that he is here, he is certain that he is doing the right thing; his heart is finally at ease and in agreement with his mind. He closes his eyes, reaches inside himself and begins to tune.

Alto’s familiar with tuning witches. He’s intimately familiar with how a connection is formed: opening his mind to hers, and then using the rush of images, sounds and emotions as a beacon for him to reach out and step through. He’s used to the ground shifting and solidifying under his feet into a maze to guard and protect the witch’s innermost fears, and a clear representation of what he must do. That is, after all, the role of the Conductor: to bring stability and light to the witches’ spirit worlds.

Tuning himself is quite a bit different. It’s not a matter of opening himself to others, but instead delving into himself. He feels like he’s plunging into a dark room that he is utterly unfamiliar with, exploring a spirit world that he barely knows. It helps that he’s standing in the Tuning Hall, where his powers are amplified. He knows that there is someone else inside him who will reach out and take his hand to guide him. However, tuning himself is disorienting and he takes a breath to steady himself once he enters their spirit world.

The grassy meadow are spotted with wildflowers, their soft pinks, yellows and whites standing out against the healthily green grass. The sky overhead is a brilliantly clear blue, untouched by the ominous orange that had heralded the angels’ descent from the moon. The Celestial Qualia hangs in the sky like a pendant, bathing the spirit world with warm, positive energy. It’s almost idyllic, but for the fact that it’s too quiet. He cannot hear Eve’s song.

Elcrest is sitting by one of the crystalline pools that are scattered throughout their spirit world, pants pulled up and his bare shins submerged in the clear waters. His sheathed sword lies beside him, close to hand but not partially drawn in anticipation of an attack. He looks up at Alto’s arrival and smiles.

“Alto,” he says. “Congratulations.”

Alto takes a seat next to Elcrest, shucking off his own boots, rolling up his pants and putting his shins into the cool water. It’s not hot here, but the contrast between the water and the air is refreshing. He leans back on the heels of his hands and sighs happily.

“This is nice,” he comments.

“Yes, it is,” Elcrest agrees. He doesn’t say anything more, and ordinarily Alto would simply let things go, sit beside him quietly and enjoy the gentle breeze on his face, the cool water on his feet, the fact that finally the world is saved from Mother Qualia and there are no more battles to fight. But he also remembers Elcrest being the one who had killed Xeno and Alto feels like he would make a terrible friend if he didn’t ask how Elcrest was faring after that.

“So …,” he begins awkwardly. “How are you?”

Elcrest turns to him, uncanny gold eyes blank. “I beg your pardon?” he says, politely neutral.

“Well, after everything with Xeno …” Alto sighs. “It can’t have been easy killing a friend.” It hadn’t been easy preparing to fight Commander Klaus, and Alto had been driven on by Queen Anastasia’s painful death to demand justice.

“No,” Elcrest agrees. “But you don’t have to worry about that. Xeno himself would have wanted this.” Elcrest looks to the horizon, the gentle grassy meadow stretching out as far as either of them could see. “It’s an act of mercy to ease a friend’s suffering.”

Alto shivers. He remembers his dreams of begging the witches of a millennia ago to kill him to ease his pain. “Yeah,” he says. “Still, that had to be hard. I mean -- it was for me, and I only knew Commander Klaus. I - I never knew Xeno like you did.”

“You knew a man very similar to Xeno,” Elcrest corrects. “It’s all right to mourn that man. You would have liked Xeno. He was a brave man and a dutiful king but he also would try every confectionary in each town and village we liberated. He was known for it, and he used to drag me along to try them as well.” He sighs. “At least pretending to be Mister X would have given him happiness.”

“That’s hard to believe. The Hero Elcrest and the King, eating piles of eclairs?” Alto shakes his head. “I know, you two are people just like I am, but you’re also a legendary hero.”

“You’ll have to get used to that.” Elcrest’s mouth curls up in the corner in something barely too fond to be a knowing smile. “Aren’t people calling _you_ the Hero Alto?”

“Uhhhh....” Alto cringes, face heating up. “We’ve been saying that it’s the Tuning Knights that did it, but we only just got back from the Moon. It’s really early days yet. We’re trying to make sure that everyone knows it was all of us who defeated Mother Qualia, and that Queen Anastasia was the reason why we were able to do that.” It hurts to say Anastasia’s name. It hurts to know that she died never knowing the peace of mind that Regnant knew now, that the people were only now starting to learn how much Ana cared about them.

“It’s a good idea,” Elcrest says. “It always pained me that you never knew the sacrifices people made for me. Please ensure that you do not repeat my mistakes.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Alto adds emphatically

Elcrest’s response is a quick, self-deprecating smile.

“I mean it,” Alto insists. “You weren’t even _awake_ for the last thousand years. You’re not responsible for us getting things wrong and forgetting things. Besides, it’s going to change. We’ll make sure everyone knows what happened when you fought Mother Qualia the first time.”

Xeno’s disappearance from history and Hilda’s lonely vigil across time are two injustices that Alto is determined to redress. The terrible sacrifices they made do not excuse the crystallization of Fahrenheit or the Eclipse, but Alto readily concedes that there was some truth in Klaus’ jealous fury and Hilda’s grim determination. It is an injustice that Xeno and Hilda’s desperate sacrifices to buy Elcrest another chance to save the world are so badly remembered.

“I know,” Elcrest says. “Do you know what you want to do now?”

Alto shrugs. “Not really. Up until now there was only really one way forward. Even as my goal became much bigger than saving just Mithra Village, there was really only one way to do that. Now … now I can do anything, and I’ll have to choose what I want to do. It’s something I want to get right.” He laughs. “Does that sound stupid?”

He’s relieved when Elcrest does not laugh at him. Instead he inclines his head gravely, and says, “No. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after defeating Mother Qualia either.”

“That’s a relief.” It’s a weight off his shoulders, to know that Elcrest too had not considered what he would do after saving the world. Everyone else seemed to have dreams they wanted to fulfil, whereas Alto still wasn’t quite sure how he should live their life. “Is there anything you’d like me to do?”

“No,” Elcrest says. “I trusted the future to you, and I still do. Take your time to make your decisions, and live well.”

It’s humbling to know that the Hero Elcrest has so much faith in him. 

“I will.” Alto can feel the peculiar pulling sensation that means that his tuning session will shortly come to a close. He adds, quickly, “Will you be here if I come back?”

“I don’t know.” Elcrest doesn’t sound particularly distressed, which hurts too. It seems unfair that Elcrest gave up so much for the world and even now does not get to live and be happy. “I didn’t think I would be here now, as my time is over. It’s your time now.”

“I don’t know about that…” Alto says. “But I am going to hope you’re here anyway.”

The last thing he sees before the tuning session ends is Elcrest’s startled, pleased smile.


End file.
